Systems and methods for monitoring heart rate using acoustic sensing

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for heart rate measurement using a plurality of acoustic sensors in a wearable device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for monitoring a heart rate of a user, comprising:
 obtaining signals from a plurality of acoustic sensors of a wearable monitor;   identifying sequential heart beats using obtained signals; and   calculating the heart rate based at least in part on an interval between the sequential heart beats.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising combining the obtained signals to reduce ambient noise. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein ambient noise is identified by comparing signals from a first acoustic sensor and a second acoustic sensor of the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of acoustic sensors comprises a contact microphone. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein combining the obtained signals comprises performing a beamforming operation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein combining the obtained signals comprises performing a beam steering operation. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying sequential heart beats comprises performing a pattern matching operation on the obtained signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein performing the pattern matching operation comprises filtering a defined frequency range of the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising detecting motion of the monitor and correlating the detected motion of the monitor with the obtained signals. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the detected motion corresponds to a gait of the user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining a rate of calorie consumption based at least in part on the calculated heart rate and the detected motion. 
     
     
         12 . A heart rate monitor, comprising:
 a wearable band;   a plurality of acoustic sensors disposed on the wearable band; and   an acoustic sensing block,   wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to identify sequential heart beats using signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors and to calculate the heart rate based at least in part on an interval between the sequential heart beats.   
     
     
         13 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 12 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is further configured to combine the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors to reduce ambient noise. 
     
     
         14 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 13 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to identify ambient noise by comparing signals from a first acoustic sensor and a second acoustic sensor of the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         15 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the plurality of acoustic sensors comprises a contact microphone. 
     
     
         16 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 11 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to combine the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors by performing a beamforming operation. 
     
     
         17 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 11 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to combine the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors by performing a beam steering operation. 
     
     
         18 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 11 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to identify sequential heart beats by performing a pattern matching operation on the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         19 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 18 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to perform the pattern matching operation by filtering a defined frequency range of the signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         20 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 12 , further comprising a motion sensor, wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to correlate signals from the motion sensor with signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
     
     
         21 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 20 , wherein the signals from the motion sensor correspond to a gait of the user. 
     
     
         22 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 20 , wherein the acoustic sensing block is configured to determine a rate of calorie consumption based at least in part on the calculated heart rate and the signals from the motion sensor. 
     
     
         23 . The heart rate monitor of  claim 12 , wherein the band is configured to be worn on an area of the user selected from the group consisting of a wrist and an ankle.